Ask a woman to name a few of her British beauty heroes and chances are Liz Earle’s Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and Superskin Moisturiser ™ will come up (again and again!)
A passionate believer in living organically and an unwavering advocate of the beautifying, healing power of plants, Liz Earle’s new project Lizearlewellbeing.com has been one of our favourite lifestyle sites since we discovered it last year. It’s full of practical, inspiring ‘live-well-feel-better’ ideas and tips and we’re kicking ourselves for not discovering it earlier.
We caught up with Liz recently and asked her about her brand new launch Liz Earle Fine Jewellery, what she thinks could be big and beauty-changing in the next twelve months, why she founded the charity LiveTwice and what her “Grass In Your Glass” milk project is all about…
Q: Liz you’ve just launched the first piece in your new Liz Earle Fine Jewellery Collection, a beautiful botanical-inspired Fairtrade Feather Fern gold and silver pendant-brooch, with 10% of all profits going to help provide garden play equipment for disabled children at Noah’s House, the first project supported by your own charity LiveTwice.org – just one of the charity projects you’re involved with.
Why did you set up LiveTwice and how can people support it if they want to get involved?
Liz’s new solid Sterling Fairtrade silver Feather Fern pendant brooch is hand-set with 37 pale sapphires, cleverly designed to be worn either as a pendant or a brooch. 10% of the proceeds go to charity
“It’s early days, but I’m hoping to build LiveTwice into a lasting legacy of hope and inspiration”
I’ve been involved in various charities for many years, as the beauty industry face of The Prince’s Trust Tomorrow campaign, an ambassador for The Sustainable Food Trust and a Patron of ACE Africa, so I’ve seen just what an incredible difference charitable giving can make to everyday lives.
When I’ve been on field trips for the Liz Earle Beauty Co. in years gone by, I’ve been to many different developing countries and seen firsthand just how much difference a small amount of input can make, so I decided to found a charity dedicated to offering opportunity within a wide range of communities. These range from education and welfare projects in East Africa to help for disabled and disadvantaged children in the UK.
It’s early days, but I’m hoping to build LiveTwice into a lasting legacy of hope and inspiration. It’s amazingly rewarding work – you set out to give but end up getting back so much more in terms of fulfilment. Everyone who supports us really enjoys the journey of finding out about new projects and simple ways to help, whether through donating money, time or ideas.
Check out our website to see how you can join in! www.livetwice.org
Q: The beauty market has never been more innovative, exciting, or competitive. What do you think will be big and “important” in beauty for 2014?
I really am probably the worst beauty person to answer this question! When Kim Buckland and I ran Liz Earle Beauty Co., before it was acquired by Avon back in 2010, our idea was always to create the highest quality, most effective, botanically-based beauty products and we did this without following fads or trends or looking over our shoulder at what others were doing.
As a result, I have never really followed latest innovations. I prefer to focus on time-tested, sustainable ingredients that we know really work on the skin to deliver amazing results, such as potent plant oils. I do think that as consumers become more savvy due to the increasing ease of internet searches and social media, that the focus needs to remain on creating high quality products that really do the job they say they’ll do, in the easiest, most enjoyable and least costly way.
Creating brilliant formulations combined with fantastic customer service at affordable prices is what will give a company a competitive edge – and I’m so pleased that these principles remain at the heart of the beauty company that still carries my name.
“Feel good by eating well, look good by taking care of your skin, and do some good along the way”
Q: You’ve probably been asked this half a million times, but what is your personal skincare routine and which products would be on your desert island beauty shortlist?
It is boring to say, I know, but I only use Liz Earle Beauty Co. products! Why wouldn’t I when I devised so many of the formulations and worked so hard to create the very best. Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser is like one of my children – I love it to bits and would never want to be without it, especially not on a desert island!
The product that started the cleansing revolution and became a beauty icon
It’s really incredible that it continues to win so many industry awards and is wonderful that it’s now being enjoyed globally by so many women of all ages and skin shades around the world. What a way to fly the flag from the idyllic shores of the UK’s Isle of Wight!
I always follow this with a sweep of Instant Boost Skin Tonic – which does what it says on the bottle – and finally a generous layer of either Skin Repair or Superskin Moisturiser for my dry, super-sensitive skin. I would have to pack all these in my desert island suitcase.
My other top faves are Botanical Shine Shampoo – the only shampoo I have ever, ever used that doesn’t make my sensitive scalp itch and the new Superskin Hand Serum, as I find the Kigelia Africana extract (from the sausage tree, which I found on a field trip to Malawi) really does help keep my hands soft and reduce the appearance of age-spots.
Q: Liz Earle Wellbeing marries beauty, health, lifestyle and giving back together nicely. Clearly, the philanthropic and organic lifestyle elements are very close to your heart. What is your “grass in your glass” milk project about?
My husband Patrick and I bought a derelict dairy farm in the West Country several years ago and converted it into a thriving organic, pasture-fed, livestock farm. During this process, I learnt a lot about our neighbouring dairy farmers who are really struggling as milk production gets increasingly intensified.
As cows move away from grazing, so our soil fertility suffers and the levels of nutrients in our milk decline also. This is especially important for the under-fives who need a good supply of healthy fats, such as Omega-3s, for healthy brain development. I wanted to shine a spotlight on what is happening before our eyes right across the British countryside and call for better labelling of our milk.
We should be able to choose grass-fed milk, which is not only better for the planet and better for small-scale family farmers, but better for our health and wellbeing too.
I recently made a mini-documentary about this, nick-named Liz’s moo-vie, which you can see on my Wellbeing website. After watching, you can vote in the poll which calls for better milk labelling – I’d love it if your readers could cast their vote – it could make a real difference to the way a basic, everyday must-have, such as milk, is produced.
5. What, in one sentence, would be Liz Earle’s “Wise Advice for a Good Life”?
Feel good by eating well, look good by taking care of your skin – and do some good along the way.
* Top photo by John Wilson
Photo by Patrick Drummond
About Liz Earle Wellbeing
For over 25 years, Liz Earle has been a respected name in the world of wellbeing. Sharing her knowledge on beauty, food, nutrition and natural health as a writer and television broadcaster, Liz is the author of over 30 bestselling books in this area. Liz Earle Wellbeing draws on this research and trusted expertise and aims to provide all we need to know to eat well, feel good and look great. From delicious, nutritious recipes to the very the best beauty advice, you’ll find a wealth of information on the site from Liz and other world-class wellbeing experts.
Launching soon, Liz Earle Wellbeing Community will be a place to share gems of wellbeing wisdom readers want to pass on to others, and if you want to get involved in the latest campaigns for good food and ethical living, you can contact Liz and the team via the website.
About Liz
A bestselling author and broadcaster, Liz co-founded the award-winning Liz Earle Beauty Co in 1995 (acquired by Avon in 2010) where she remains a brand ambassador. As one of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs, her services to business were recognised in 2009 when she was awarded an MBE. Her work with The Prince’s Trust, ACE Africa, the National Osteoporosis Society and other charitable organisations led to the launch of her own registered charity, LiveTwice.org that provides opportunities for the disadvantaged in the UK and in developing countries.
Since the start of her career, Liz has been passionate about food, farming and the environment. She is an ambassador for The Sustainable Food Trust, an advocate for The Soil Association and co-founder of the original food labelling pressure group FLAG. Several years ago, Liz returned to her roots as a long-term supporter of organic food, converting a derelict dairy in the West Country to a thriving organic pasture-fed farm where she now lives with her husband and five children.
WATCH: The Grass In Your Glass milk project moo-vie